Efforts to hold back a monstrous oil spill were hampered by high winds and roiling waves Friday as the black, floating ooze continued to seep into Louisiana’s rich fishing grounds and nesting areas, leaving government workers scrambling for new ideas as to how to deal with America’s biggest environmental crisis in decades.

While the mile-deep BP well was gushing forth an estimated 200,000 gallons of crude a day, a lawsuit was filed that claimed that workers for Liberals’ favorite whipping boy, Halliburton Inc.,  might have caused the April 20th disaster, which killed 11 people. Halliburton  has issued a denial.

The oil slick is now more than 130 miles long and 70 miles wide and is endangering scores of species of wildlife, including birds, dolphins and the fish, shrimp, oysters and crabs that make the Gulf Coast one of the nation’s most abundant sources of seafood. Louisiana has closed some fishing grounds and oyster beds because of the possibility of oil contamination.

At least 1.6 million gallons of oil have spilled, according to  the Coast Guard.

This ever widening black mass could reach the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coasts by Monday.

There is a real possibility that this spill could eclipse the worst oil accident in U.S. history – the 11 million gallons that spilled from the supertanker Exxon Valdez off Alaska in 1989 – in just two months.

As the spectre of this horrible disaster looms over America’s Gulf Coast, where is the President?  Flying down to the coast to help the beleagured residents who are facing another natural disaster so shortly after Katrina?

No.

Sending all the resources of the Federal Government down to take care of the situation?

Not exactly. 

Within hours of the explosion, BP was sending unmanned submarines to the well to try to trigger a device called a “blowout preventer,” which is essentially a powerful valve meant to clamp down on the well and shut it off in case of emergency.

The device should have been triggered in the explosion, but wasn’t; that failure will be a central question in the investigation.

So what is Scooter doing?  Is he up all night with his Advisors trying to figure out the best way to handle this natural disaster?  Nope.  First he has to give a Propaganda, err, Commencement speech today at the University of Michigan.  Then, tonight, it’s time to party!

Our President and First Lady will be attending the National Correspondents’ Dinner tonight.  He’ll  be laughing it up with Jay Leno and the sycophantic Main Stream Media while those who make their living on the Gulf Coast watch this ominous ooze drifting in to destroy their livelihoods.

Don’t worry.  A White House Spokeman has announced that the President will bless the Gulf Coast with his presence within 48 hours.

Priorities…priorities.

But, hey.  I’m sure the First Couple will look good for the  cameras.  After all,

It’s storybook, man.

Sources:  mywaynews.com,wsj.com, Jake Tapper on Twitter